


in the end, it's you

by jaemsbaby



Category: NCT (Band)
Genre: And More Fluff, Fluff, Friends to Lovers, Lots of kissing, M/M, Making Out, Skinship, What else is new, but it's not really, donghyuck thinks jaemin is an idiot, jaemin is in denial, kind of 2+1?, short and sweet
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-14
Updated: 2019-04-14
Packaged: 2020-01-13 10:30:56
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,057
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18467125
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/jaemsbaby/pseuds/jaemsbaby
Summary: in which jaemin and renjun both love lollipops (and each other, but they don't know it yet).





	in the end, it's you

 

when jaemin was nine, he was sent to the dentist for a check-up that he had been putting off. it wasn’t that he was scared of the dentist, but jaemin loved sweets. he was pretty sure his mouth was full of cavities and didn’t want to be embarrassed in front of the dentist.

 

thankfully, jaemin was growing, and that meant his teeth were too. his baby teeth were falling out, and new, bigger ones were growing out. the ones that _were_ severely coated in sugar were the baby teeth, so the dentist sent him out with a warning and jaemin plopped down on the couch in the waiting room, waiting for his dad to pick him up.

 

about fifteen minutes had passed, and soon, a shorter, scrawnier boy had walked out of the dentist’s office, sucking on a lollipop. jaemin was playing with his fingers, when the short boy stopped in front of him, shoving a lollipop in front of his face. jaemin blinked, looking up at the boy’s face.

 

he looked foreign, younger, and very fragile. he had the face of a baby but his eyes were fierce, expectant.

 

“are you gonna take it?” he asked, momentarily taking his lollipop out his mouth. his lips were tainted pink by the milky-pink candy he was holding in his hand. jaemin realized that the boy was definitely foreign. his korean was good, but he was slightly slow.

 

jaemin wrapped his fingers around the lollipop in front of him and muttered a quick, “thanks.”

 

the boy took this as an invitation to sit next to jaemin, who moved away just a little bit. “the doctor said it’s sugar-free. he’s right. it’s disgusting,” the boy said, scrunching up his nose.

 

jaemin unwrapped his own lollipop to see a milky-yellow color that reminded him of yellow paint. he stuck the candy in his mouth, letting the taste sit on his tongue before immediately taking it out. “oh my god, you’re right.” the lollipop was not only bland, but it was a sour lemon flavor, and the pretty yellow color no longer looked pretty.

 

“oh well. i was craving something sweet and this was the best i could get,” the boy said. jaemin looked over at the pink lollipop and realized that it was probably a strawberry flavor, jaemin’s own favorite.

 

“this one’s sour,” he commented, before popping the lollipop back in his mouth, already getting used to taste.

 

the boy laughed, “there was a reason i didn’t take that one. i’m already sour enough. need some sweetness in me.” for some reason, this made jaemin laugh loudly, doubling over, clutching his stomach as tears came to his eyes.

 

“oh man,” he said, wiping away the tears. “maybe i’m too sweet.”

 

the boy looked at him oddly before flashing a smile. “i’m renjun. huang renjun. i moved from china a year ago with my older brother, and we’re staying with our cousin. i just turned ten four months ago.”

 

“you’re older than me? oh my god. i’m na jaemin. i’ll be turning ten in a month.”

 

“hi, nana. what school do you go to?”

 

“haeundae elementary school. what about you?”

 

“i go there too!!” renjun said excitedly, and jaemin smiled a full, genuine smile.

 

“maybe we’ll meet each other,” he suggested with hope in his voice.

 

“definitely,” renjun smiled, and they clicked lollipops, laughing between themselves.

 

as it turns out, jaemin and renjun didn’t just meet each other. they grew up together. jaemin was there for renjun when the older was feeling homesick, when the older got into fights with his brother, or when he needed to rant at one in the morning for no particular reason. renjun was the first person jaemin told about his parents, about his mom cheating on his dad, and now it was just the two of them taking over the world, as jaemin had no siblings. to this, renjun offered to be one, and together, they were there for each other’s first coming out, first relationship, first heartbreak, and many more firsts that they couldn’t count.

 

going into middle school, the entire class population knew that renjun and jaemin were joined at the hip. no one ever mentioned just renjun or just jaemin. it was always renjun and jaemin, jaemin and renjun. even in the second year of high school when they found new friends, known as lee donghyuck and lee jeno, the two were still each other’s comfort zone (it certainly helped that donghyuck and jeno practically had heart eyes for each other that both were oblivious to).

 

however, by the beginning of senior year, jaemin’s starting to think that maybe renjun’s a little different from donghyuck and jeno. in which that, he doesn’t want to kiss either of them all the time. he doesn’t want to stare at their lips all the time. and despite how frustratingly gay the four of them are, only when the chinese boy’s sweet, sticky, candy-stained lips are pressed on jaemin’s cheeks, does his heart beat miraculously fast.

 

not even donghyuck’s spontaneous back hugs can send jaemin into the spiral that he feels when he is with renjun.

 

 

 

 

 

the first time jaemin denies it begins during the end of november, with the first basketball game of their senior year. jeno is on the varsity basketball team, and donghyuck insists for all of them to support him, even if jaemin has no interest in basketball and renjun finds it too cold to go out. but they go anyway, an agreed pact to calm donghyuck down in case anything ever happened.

 

renjun is wrapped in layers despite the game being indoors, and jaemin can’t help but find that he looks like a baby, his face still the same as when they met eight years ago. they snuggle next to each other, a huge, thick blanket wrapped around their shoulders, even if, frankly, jaemin is feeling a little warm from the stuffiness and the huge crowd in the building. anything for renjun, he’d do anything to be next to him. donghyuck is situated next to renjun, constantly standing up and jumping on the bleachers, screaming words along the lines of:

 

“THAT’S MY BEST FRIEND!!”

 

“YES, #23 YOU GO BUBS!!”

 

“LEE JENO LET’S GO!”

 

“DO YOU SEE THAT? THAT’S MY BEST FRIEND RIGHT THERE!”

 

jaemin and renjun’s faces are flushed red with embarrassment, as people look at the boy in a mixture of awe, disgust, and annoyance. jaemin decides to ignore the second type of people and instead looks at renjun. that seems like a periodic thing for him, to look at the older when he is annoyed or stressed out. the chinese boy brings jaemin a sense of belonging, a sense of home, that he can’t find anywhere else. renjun’s face is sculpted like a baby, his eyes bright and full of light. sure, renjun isn’t always the _nicest_ kid out there, but he’s only mean to donghyuck, and… yeah. jaemin realizes that’s about it.

 

the chinese boy slightly nudges jaemin’s arm, handing him a wrapped lollipop. jaemin’s eyes brighten up and he peels back the paper wrapper, popping the candy into his mouth.

 

 _choco-vanilla_.

 

he takes the lollipop out of his mouth and turns to thank renjun, but stops when he sees the boy holding his lollipop with his sweater paws, tongue darting out to lick the milky pink sugar, around and around, before putting the candy in his mouth, sucking on it. he turns to face jaemin with the candy in his mouth, and before renjun says anything, the younger feels his eyes instinctively travel down to renjun’s lips.

 

jaemin knows renjun isn’t stupid, he knows he saw the movement of his eyes, lidded and intense. he knows renjun has seen the gulp down his throat and maybe, just maybe, he’s even noticed the way jaemin’s heartbeat spikes up. maybe, renjun has noticed the way his mind has shut down, it’s last words being, _i want to kiss you_.

 

jaemin doubts renjun has noticed anything, but it is immediately replaced by a sugar rush in his stomach when the chinese boy takes out the candy in his mouth and swiftly presses his lips onto jaemin’s. the younger can barely breathe, and the taste of strawberries dancing across renjun’s lips is enough to send him into overdrive.

 

the kiss is short and sweet, but even moments after pulling away, jaemin’s heart is beating at an erratic pace, electricity dancing in his fingertips, and his lips feel numb. renjun, meanwhile, is blushing like a tomato, but neither of them say a word. the noises around them are drowned out, and all jaemin can think is, _i wanna do it again._

 

later that night, donghyuck slaps jaemin for not confessing to renjun, and he simply shrugs, saying, “it was a one-time thing.” (donghyuck’s eyes roll back the furthest they’ve ever been). 

 

 

 

 

 

 

the second time jaemin denies it, he is in renjun’s room on a december friday afternoon after school. the older was supposed to be tutoring him, but neither are in the mood to study before the weekend and instead take to the couch, rewatching exo showtime episodes. except it was more of renjun watching the screen and jaemin watching renjun.

 

ever since jaemin could remember, the older had a white ceramic bowl of lollipops on the coffee table in front of the couch. halfway through episode three, renjun sticks his hands into the bowl and pulls out two candies, giving one to the younger.

 

“renjun, has that bowl ever been empty?” he points.

 

“well, you’re almost always at my house, we both like lollipops, so no, it’s never been empty. i think it’s pretty a pretty good deal though. a seven-thousand won bag of lollipops can last us five months.”

 

renjun unwraps the lollipop, while jaemin nods, eyes now focused on his lips. he sees the boy next to him hold the lollipop with one hand, discarding the wrapper on the coffee table. he sees the way renjun’s tongues wrap around the lollipop, and the way he sucks on the candy, and suddenly jaemin is biting his lips, begging himself to look away.

 

jaemin’s own lollipop is simply milk flavored, sweet and creamy. he wonders what the taste of his creamy candy and renjun’s green-apple flavored one would taste like mixed together. he wants to try.

 

“did you know that when you eat a lollipop, you’re basically just licking and eating your own saliva?” he nonchalantly turns back to the screen, pretending to focus, actually waiting for renjun’s answer.

 

“then, let’s switch lollipops.” jaemin swears he hears and feels his heart stop, electricity and adrenaline pumping through his veins.

 

“w-what?”

 

renjun huffs-in what jaemin supposes is annoyance (but it’s cute, really)-and turns to face jaemin.

 

 _we’re doing this again? not that i’m complaining_.

 

renjun hands over his lollipop, and the younger can feel his hands tense and shaking as he takes the candy from the chinese boy’s hands and gives him his own milk flavored lollipop.

 

jaemin pops the lollipop in his mouth, swirling his tongue around the smooth, sweet, and slightly sour candy. he takes it all in, the taste is bursting with flavor in his mouth, but more than anything, he is tasting renjun. he wishes that maybe, this could be the older’s lips on his, but if this is what he’ll get to taste the lips of his best friend one more time, so be it.

 

renjun looks over at jaemin, and the younger does the same, his eyes once again traveling to the older’s lips. embarrassed, face flushed, jaemin quickly looks away. but renjun gently pulls the lollipop out of his mouth, before tugging on the younger’s hand, forcing jaemin to look over and take out the candy.

 

“hm?” jaemin asks, but his heart is pounding.

 

when renjun presses his lips to him, it’s game over for na jaemin.

 

renjun’s lips are soft and sweet, and jaemin’s eyes flutter to a close as he takes it all. they drop their lollipops on the floor, not caring that renjun’s brother sicheng would probably get mad at them. suddenly he tugs on the older boy’s waist, and renjun is sitting on his lap, straddling jaemin, whose hands are pulling on the strands of hairs on renjun’s head. what started from a few pecks turns into the clashing of tongues fighting between them, the bites that leave marks on each other’s lips and necks.

 

jaemin can feel the older press into him; renjun’s hands are on his waist and it drives him crazy. he lets the older’s tongue work its way into his mouth, exploring every bit of jaemin, taking in every taste. a small moan comes out of jaemin, and renjuns pulls away a little, smiling into another kiss as their lips melt together.

 

“you dumbass bitch, you’re still telling me this is platonic?” donghyuck barges into jaemin’s house not five minutes after the latter had texted him what happened. jaemin is sitting on his couch, later that evening, a little shocked and unsure what to do. donghyuck jumped on the couch, jolting the younger, who sharply glared over him.

 

“there was nothing confirmed between us.”

 

“YOU MOANED.”

 

“STOP CALLING ME OUT FOR THAT, I KNOW I DID OKAY.”

 

“do you truly like renjun?” donghyuck’s serious voice comes out of nowhere, and jaemin is at a loss of words. his whole world stops for a second. “okay, the fact that you’re pausing literally proves that you’re just _that fucking_ _dumb_.”

 

“asshole.”

 

“ditto.”

 

jaemin sighs and turns away from donghyuck, not ready to face the other when saying the words he’s about to say. “i think i do.”

 

he hears the older scoff. “you _think_ ? you mean you just _think_ you spend almost every waking hour thinking about kissing renjun?”

 

“i mean, it’s happened, anyways,” jaemin mumbles to himself, spiking laughter in donghyuck.

 

“god,” he’s clutching his stomach with tears in his eyes. “you’re amazing, jaem. amazingly oblivious.”

 

“you shouldn’t be talking,” he nudges the boy next to him, who visibly pales. jaemin knows he’s got him there and continues to attack donghyuck with questions about a certain _lee jeno_ (in which donghyuck shuts up, for once).

 

 

 

 

 

 

the third time jaemin actually starts to believe donghyuck, maybe there was something between them. he and renjun are out on what the older likes to call a date (but it really isn’t), and they are on a coffee date (because jaemin determined it too cold for ice cream) in the middle of december.

 

renjun and jaemin meet at eleven in the morning on a saturday, which has the chinese boy whining and moaning, something along the eyes of _it’s too early in the morning_ and _it’s too cold_. jaemin is about to slap his hand over the older’s mouth, and it isn’t until he offers to pay for their morning coffee that renjun finally stops bitching about the weather.

 

“but you wanted ice cream-”

 

“shut up and just pay, bitch.”

 

“fucking rude,” jaemin scoffs but hands his card to the barista, who has been vividly looking between the two boys. “sorry,” he apologizes quickly to the guy (his name tag reads _mark lee_ ), who waves it off.

 

after getting their coffee (renjun gets hot chocolate), jaemin and renjun walk to a nearby park. the sky is dark and cloudy and truthfully, it looks like it’s about to rain. but the two are content, drinking their drinks and complaining about how painfully obvious and oblivious jeno and donghyuck are. they walk by a river, standing on top of a bridge, facing the crowds of people who are spending their saturday lazing by the river, walking to appreciate the vibrancy of colors, the fall of the crisp, brown leaves, the gust of the winds. jaemin loved the cold weather. the two are leaning over the bridge, drinking in silence.

 

“jaemin?”

 

“hm?”

 

“d-do you like anyone?” renjun stutters out. jaemin freezes, and it’s not because of the cold.

 

“i-yeah, i do. do you?”

 

“hmm.. yeah.”

 

“do i know who it is?” jaemin says, raising an eyebrow over at the older. he can’t deny that his heart is slightly breaking upon realizing this, but jaemin figures he would never have a chance with renjun anyways.

 

“you do, but i know him better than you do.”

 

“ahh…”

 

renjun continues, “he’s cute. kind of smart. he loves the cold weather, he loves coffee.” jaemin’s heart breaks with each time the older boy describes the one he likes.

 

“okay, renjun. i get it,” he retorted, turning away, about to walk away when renjun grabs his wrist, preventing him from walking away.

 

“you can’t even let me confess properly? tsk, i thought you were better than this, jaem,” the older scoffs.

 

“what?” the younger’s face is crumpled in confusion. renjun rolls his eyes and grabs onto the collar of jaemin’s jacket, but before doing anything, renjun sighs.

 

“one would think that the past few times i kissed you, you would already know who i was talking about.” renjun then pulls jaemin to him and presses his lips to the shocked boy. the younger stiffens up, not sure what to do or how to react. the kiss is brief and too short for jaemin to respond, but once renjun pulls away, he’s yearning the warmth of the older’s lips on his again.

 

renjun’s sassy demeanor visibly crumbles and he lets go of jaemin, slightly trembling as he apologizes, and jaemin can see the guilt in his face. “i-i’m sorry, nana, i don’t know what ha-”

 

he is cut off when the younger kisses him again, this time savoring the sweet taste of the hot chocolate mixing with the bitterness of jaemin’s coffee. renjun nearly drops his drink as the younger pushes renjun against the rails of the bridge. then this time, the younger really does drop his coffee (or rather, throws it) before placing his hands on renjun’s hips, gripping and rubbing circles into the chinese boy’s waist, sliding his tongue in his mouth, tasting all of renjun. jaemin bites and swipes at renjun’s lips, causing the older to gasp slightly.

 

“jaemin-”

 

“you have no idea how long i’ve been wanting to do this,” the younger says once they finally pull away. jaemin glances (stares, really) at the older’s lips and looks back into his eyes.

 

renjun laughs, “do it again.”

**Author's Note:**

> hope you guys enjoyed it!! follow me on [twitter](https://twitter.com/jaemsbaby) & [cc](https://curiouscat.me/jaemsbaby)!!


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